Archaeologists Uncover First Direct Evidence of Drug Use From the Bronze Age

Story by Miriam Fauzia • Yesterday 10:00 AM

Drugs — whether psychedelics or otherwise — are experiencing a bit of a renaissance.


Gone are the decades when LSD, marijuana, or magic mushrooms carried a heavy and often criminalized stigma. Psilocybin, the active ingredient in magic mushrooms, is now being used to alleviate major depression, as well as alcohol use disorder, and midomafetamine (MDMA) is being considered a potential treatment for PTSD.

But if we dip back in human history long before psychedelics and other stimulants got their infamous bad rep, it seems our ancestors had no qualms about getting lit on a Friday night (or maybe a Tuesday afternoon).

Whether in South America, where some ancient civilizations used psychedelic plants before ritual human sacrifice, or opium in ancient Greece for healing and channeling the divine, humanity’s drug use was globally pervasive and incalculably old.

But there’s been one problem: Finding direct evidence connecting our blissed-out forebears with their abandoned paraphernalia or drug-inspired rock art. For that, the best evidence is human remains, some of which archaeologists have largely uncovered from ancient hair and bone samples of mummies.

More:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/medical/archaeologists-uncover-first-direct-evidence-of-drug-use-from-the-bronze-age/ar-AA19ypZq